Tom's Midnight Garden

Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce is a children’s fantasy novel that follows Tom Long, a boy who discovers a magical garden that appears only at midnight. In this garden, Tom meets Hatty, a girl from the past. Through their friendship, the novel explores the themes of The Impact of History on the Present, The Contrast Between Childhood and Adulthood, and The Transformative Power of Friendship. Tom’s Midnight Garden has been in print continuously since it was first published in 1958. Now considered a classic of children’s literature, the book won the Carnegie Medal and has been adapted for the stage, screen, and radio.

This guide refers to the 2015 e-book edition published by Oxford University Press.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, child abuse, bullying, and gender discrimination.

Plot Summary

When Tom Long’s brother, Peter, gets the measles, the boys’ plans to spend their summer vacation tree climbing are derailed. Peter must remain quarantined in bed, while Tom is reluctantly sent to stay with his aunt and uncle Gwen and Alan Kitson in eastern England. On the way to their home, Alan stops at Ely and buys Tom a postcard of the cathedral’s tower. When Tom complains that he wants to climb the tower, Alan reminds him that he may be infectious. Tom sends the postcard to Peter.

Alan and Gwen live in an apartment in what was once a large manor house. The house’s expansive gardens have been sold off, and newer buildings now crowd around it. When Tom first enters the building, he finds its bare hallway unwelcoming. Its only interesting feature is an old grandfather clock with a winged man on its face. The Kitsons caution Tom not to touch the clock, as it belongs to their cantankerous landlady, Mrs. Bartholomew, who lives on the top floor.

Tom is bored and lonely. He complains that his bedroom, a former nursery, has barred windows and that no other children live in the building. Alan is stern, while Gwen tries to comfort Tom with rich foods. Heavy meals and no exercise make Tom sleepless, but Alan insists that he stay in bed for 10 hours every night. 

One night, while lying awake at midnight, Tom hears the old clock chiming. While Mrs. Bartholomew regularly winds the clock, and it keeps accurate time, its chimes never match the time. Curiously, Tom counts 13 chimes at midnight. This extra hour, he argues to himself, permits him to leave his bed without violating his uncle’s 10-hour rule.

Tom sneaks down the stairs to scrutinize the strange clock. Unable to see in the dark hallway, he opens the back door to let in moonlight. Outside is a magnificent lawn with flower beds, yew trees, and numerous pathways. Tom is astonished, as the Kitsons claim that their only outside space is a dreary backyard where the trash cans are kept. Closing the door, he notices that the hallway is now richly decorated. A girl in an old-fashioned maid’s uniform appears and looks straight at Tom without seeing him. The unfamiliar scene then fades and disappears, leaving Tom alone in the bare hallway.

The following day, Tom unsuccessfully tries to make the Kitsons admit that they lied about the garden. Determined to prove that they deceived him, Tom opens the back door and sees a yard full of trash cans.

When the clock strikes 13 again that night, Tom slips to the back door and finds that the magnificent garden has returned. He ventures out and explores, discovering that he leaves no footprints. His hand passes right through the greenhouse door when he tries to open it. Mindful of the time, Tom hurries back into the house. The grandfather clock shows that it is only a few minutes past midnight.

Tom visits the garden every night, and no matter how long he stays there, the time on the clock is essentially the same when he returns. The weather is always perfect in the garden, and although the seasons change, it is always daytime. He often sees a gardener named Abel and the three Melbourne boys who live in the house. Hatty, a little girl, tags along with the brothers, who unkindly tease her. Tom hopes to play with the boys but soon realizes that they can’t see or hear him.

Hatty reveals that she can see Tom and has been watching him since his first visit to the garden. She claims that she is a princess who is forced to stay with her cruel aunt Grace Melbourne and her three cousins while her parents are busy ruling their kingdom. Tom and Hatty become friends, exploring the garden and climbing trees. Hatty shows Tom a biblical inscription inside the grandfather clock, which reads, “Time No Longer” (161). After each night in the garden, Tom writes a letter to Peter chronicling his adventures with Hatty.

Time passes differently for Tom than for Hatty. Although he goes to the garden every night, she complains that he has been away for months. On one occasion, he meets a much younger version of Hatty, dressed in black and sobbing. Tom learns that Hatty’s parents are dead and that her wealthy aunt Grace has reluctantly taken her in. Grace is cruel to her niece, confining Hatty to the house and garden and claiming that she is unfit for polite society.

Hatty and Tom argue over which one of them is a ghost. Tom consults the Kitsons’ encyclopedia and, from various clues, deduces that Hatty is a Victorian. The discovery seems to confirm his suspicion that his friend is, in the present, dead. When Hatty falls from their treehouse, Tom fears that he may be responsible for her death, but to his relief, she survives.

Tom misses his family but does not want to leave the garden. As the day he is due to return home approaches, he decides to stay in the garden indefinitely. However, Tom notices a change in Hatty and his surroundings in his subsequent visits. The garden is in deep winter, covered in snow, and Hatty observes that Tom looks thin and faded. She is also preoccupied with learning to ice skate, as her kindest cousin, James, includes her in outings with his friends. Hatty says that she wants to skate on the frozen river to Ely Cathedral. Since Tom has no skates, he tells Hatty to hide hers under the floorboards in her bedroom, which, in the present, is his room.

Tom and Hatty skate to Ely Cathedral and climb the tower. At the top, they briefly meet Tom’s brother, Peter, who has transported there in a dream. Peter is shocked when he sees Hatty, pointing out that she is a young woman, not a girl. Tom realizes that Hatty has aged without him noticing. Hatty and Tom leave late to skate home and discover that the ice is thawing. They are rescued by James’s friend Barty, who offers Hetty a lift in his gig (a horse-drawn carriage). Tom is annoyed when Hatty seems to forget his presence, and he falls asleep. Despite his intention to stay in the past, he wakes up in his bedroom in the present.

On his final night at the Kitsons’ apartment, Tom goes outside, but the garden is gone. After stumbling around the yard, he screams Hatty’s name. Alan gently carries Tom back to bed, and Gwen comforts him. The next morning, the Kitsons tell him that Mrs. Bartholmew has demanded an apology from Tom for waking her in the night. 

Tom goes up to her apartment and discovers that the landlady is Hatty. After a happy marriage to Barty, she was widowed and returned to live in her childhood home. Mrs. Bartholemew reveals that since Tom arrived, she has frequently dreamed of her lonely childhood, and he entered her dreams. Tom and Mrs. Bartholomew embrace like old friends.